On the way to the UFC lightweight championship, and even atop the premier MMA organization’s 155-pound class, Benson Henderson has interviewed the experts.

“As a young guy, I knew I was going to make plenty of mistakes, so I wanted to pick the brains of the older guys,” Henderson told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

B.J. Penn, Kenny Florian and Rich Franklin are among the veterans whom Henderson sought out, and he now credits them for his development as a fighter.

During a visit in 2009 to Florian’s gym in Massachusetts, the 28-year-old champ picked his brain about opportunities outside the cage. Florian was earning his stripes as an occasional UFC commentator and had yet to take jobs as a regular broadcaster for televised events and an MMA analyst on FOX.

“I asked him about how to segue into broadcasting and what it took to run his own gym like the Florian Martial Arts Center,” Henderson said.

A 2010 training stint with ex-champ Penn taught Henderson about staying in the game. Penn, of course, has competed in the UFC since 2001, and despite a reputation for occasional gym slacking, he boasts one of the most accomplished resumes in the sport. In fact, it was Penn who held the belt before Frankie Edgar took it from him before ceding it to Henderson.

Former WEC champ Henderson (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who’s set to defend his title against Nate Diaz (16-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in December’s UFC on FOX 5 main event at Seattle’s KeyArena, asked him about what it took to stay motivated and how Penn was able to fight at a high level for so long.

“Thanks to their insight, it helped me to become the fighter that I am,” Henderson said. “If not for those pearls of wisdom from B.J. and Kenny Florian, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Franklin told him that when he was Henderson’s age, he was in the gym seven hours a day. At 38 years old, he had whittled that down to four – two in the morning and two at night.

The ex-champ also advised a skeptical Henderson to start using supplements.

“I’ve never taken protein or amino acids,” Henderson said. “I’ve always been all-natural. I wanted food to be my source. I didn’t like supplements. But as I am getting older, I want to take care of my body. You’ve got to be careful with supplements and make sure you take the right ones.”

Henderson always has considered himself an old soul, and he preferred to read rather than party as a young man growing up in Washington. But as a champion, he’s still young in the game. With Edgar out of the immediate picture following a win at UFC 150, a list of potential contenders awaits Henderson. First is Diaz, who himself is still developing as a fighter. Then the field fans out to include Gray Maynard, Joe Lauzon, Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis. Henderson plans to beat them all and surpass middleweight champ Anderson Silva’s title reign of 10 defenses (and counting).

Now an owner at The MMA Lab, the Arizona gym where he’s done much of his growing, Henderson is at the peak of his skills. Now he’s trying to maximize his time at the top while planning for the future.

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